Gideon’s Bakehouse

Gideon’s Bakehouse is a whimsical bakery located in the heart of the Orlando foodie scene. It is located in Audubon Park’s East End Market. It’s owned by the dessert king Steve Lewis (Instagram: @uberbot) and has been dishing out amazing desserts for almost 7 years. I would describe East End Market as being a foodie/ hipster’s dream. You can find kombucha on tap there, artisan grilled cheeses, organic salads, local vendors along with one of the best ramen I’ve had since living in Orlando. It’s pretty much a one stop shop the perfect meal and it has a courtyard in the back which is perfect for snapping the best shots. East End Market is only a short distance away from the Mills District. The Mills District of Winter Park is every foodies dream. You can get anything from asian fusion tacos to some of the best BBQ Orlando has to offer… all with in walking distance.

Gideon’s is best known for their award winning 1/2 pound cookies ($4 each and well worth every penny). When I tell you all these things are to die for I really mean it. You have to go early in order to get the flavor you like because they notoriously sell out within hours of opening. TravelPulse named Gideon’s Bakehouse as the “Best Cookies on Earth” and it was with very good reason. They also have some of the most decadent cake I have ever put in my mouth!

Every one of “The Earth’s Best Cookies” are picture perfect. Steve prides himself on not giving up quality in order to meet the high demand of these cookies! He and his team let the dough rest for hours before baking each batch and the level of flavors shine through with the quality of production and ingredients. I am not ashamed to admit that I have tried every flavor of the cookies and eat at least 3 of them a week! I 100% blame these cookies for the five pounds I gained back in February LOL!

I am going to list the cookies in order of my favorite flavors, then list the cakes after.

Cookies & Cream Cookie:

My ALL TIME FAVORITE!! It’s a doughy, buttery, and rich piece of heaven. I have eaten three of these half pound cookies in one sitting… they are just that good! Imagine a buttery sugar cookie filled and crusted with Oreo cookie crumbs. It seriously doesn’t get much better than these. **Pro Tip** always eat the cookies & cream cookie warm because consistency and flavor is much better a little warm.

Candied Walnut Cookie:

I love this cookie more and more after each one I finish. Out of all of their cookies with chocolate chips in it this one is the lightest. It is a traditional chocolate chip cookie in the center but it is coated with their delicious candied walnuts (which is also the crust of the red velvet cake). This cookie is much lighter than their other chocolate chip cookies due to the fact that it is not covered in chocolate chips. They salt the cookie at the end which adds the perfect contrast of flavor with the chocolate and candied walnuts. If you are not a fan of Oreos I would recommend trying this one. It is my second favorite flavor!

Pistachio Toffee Cookie:

This cookie is growing on me the more I try it. Steve always tells me this is a fan favorite and it is with good reason. I am a huge fan of the salted toffee & pistachios on it. It has the traditional chocolate chip cookie center but it is coated with chocolate chips along with the toffee and pistachios. This cookie is much chocolatier than the candied walnut cookie but it is still delicious. I could drink a cup of the toffee they top on these cookies it is just that good! If you are a chocolate toffee lover you’d love this one!

Triple Chocolate Cookie:

This cookie is the cakiest in texture of all of their cookies! It is absolutely decadent and delicious but very rich. Surprisingly the chocolate in this cookie is very well balanced and does not overpower the palate. I do not order this cookie often but every time I have had it it’s been delicious. Perfect for the chocolate lovers out there.

Chocolate Chip Cookie:

This cookie is with out a doubt the most intense chocolate chip cookie I have ever encountered. It is delicious but it is my least favorite because I am personally not the biggest fan of chocolate chips. For being my least favorite cookie of their 5 signature flavors I could still eat 100 of these things. They are super rich and full of flavor. This is the perfect chocolate chip cookie in every way it could be.

*seasonal flavors*

“Frankenstein Cookie” (October)

This was one of my favorite Gideon’s cookie creation ever because it combined the cookies & cream cookie with M & Ms. When I tell you this cookie is out of this world I really mean it. As if I needed any other excuse to eat candy on Halloween, Gideon’s came along and blew every other spooky dessert out of the water.

“White Chocolate Macadamia Caramel Filled Cookie” (November- January)

This cookie was so delicious. I am a huge fan of caramel.. Steve & his team absolutely killed this one. The cookie was really light and surprisingly not too sweet for being filled with caramel and covered with white chocolate. The caramel was cooked to the perfect gooey consistency.

“Chipotle Dark Chocolate Cherry” (February)

This cookie was another one of my favorites (even though every new cookie that they come out with I say is my favorite). It used the traditional triple chocolate batter but was topped with spicy chocolate covered cherries. Lets just say these cookies helped me get through Valentine’s Day and kept me satisfied. I am not even going to deny the fact that I probably ate at least 10 of these during their short time on the menu.

Peanut butter Expresso” (March)

This cookie I just tried for the first time yesterday and its so delicious. It isn’t filled with chocolate chips like most of them instead its filled with peanut butter and expresso. Its covered in peanuts and chocolate chips. The flavor is much less rich than most of the other cookies that Gideon’s puts out and the consistency is more dense and cakey due to the peanut butter. It hit the spot to my peanut butter craving I had at the time of getting this cookie. I can’t wait to go back and try more.

Cakes

**Every day Gideon’s has different flavor cakes so contact ahead to make sure they have the specific one you want. They usually always have salted caramel and red velvet but I always message them to make sure they have the flavor I want. **

Red Velvet Cake

All I can say about this cake is O M G! This is one of those life changing bites that you will never forget. It is with out a doubt the moistest cake I’ve ever put in my mouth. The cream cheese icing is absolutely perfect and not too sweet. I, personally, am not a fan of icing of any kind but Gideon’s has turned me into a believer. This cake blew my mind. Asides from it being perfect as it is they also covered it with the candied walnuts off of the candied walnut cookies. I could eat a whole one of theses cakes in one sitting and be totally happy. If you ever go to Gideon’s you absolutely have to try a slice of this cake it will change everything you ever thought you knew about red velvet forever.

Cookies and Cream Cake

Again Gideon’s changed my life with cake. I usually really hate chocolate cake but oh my god this is next level cake baking. It was so moist and flavorful. The Oreo icing was so delicious and the perfect consistency. Again, not too sweet. I’ve personally eaten two slices of this cake at one time and I didn’t feel bad after. Gideon’s Bakehouse stands out from other bakers because they do not use a lot of sugar in their recipes so their flavors focus more on the quality of ingredients they use versus the sweetness which most other bakeries miss the mark on.

If you’ve mad it all the way this far to the end of the review I have one piece of advice for you. If you have any interest or appreciation in food you absolutely have to try Gideon’s. My least favorite item out of their lineup is still a strong 10/10. It’s hard to find bakeries in today’s day and age that focus so hard on the quality of ingredients & production and Gideon’s is one of those gems. I’ve tried cookies and cakes from hundreds of locations all over Florida and nothing comes close to comparing to the quality of product that you can get here.

Suzy was born and raised in a small town in Virginia and moved to Florida when she was 18 to pursue a career in hospitality industry. She currently goes to school for Hospitality Management. She is an active member in CFHLA and FHIA and focuses on finding the best local restaurants around. She lives in Central Florida but travels around Florida often for food. Follow her on Instagram to see more food pictures and reviews: @sooziethefoodie

Hi! I’m so happy you enjoyed the cookies they are my absolute favorite thing ever 🙂 I’ve been working on a few reviews and will hopefully have them up this week! If you have Instagram you can see the shorter versions of my reviews on @sooziethefoodie!

Thank you for the review. I would like to try Gideon’s soon, perhaps this coming weekend. Have you ever been to Valhalla Bakery in Orlando? Maybe you can do a review on it. Very nice place and good food.

I have tried Valhalla I had a great experience there. My photos from there are not as good of quality as I like though so I will have to go back to take more to do a full review!

If you go to Gideon’s this weekend be sure to order in advance (I can send you the link if you’d like) or go really early because they can sell out with in an hour of opening on the weekends.

I am working on a review for P is for Pie which is located right by East End Market right now it should be done between tomorrow and Thursday! Definitely check it out if you like desserts as much as I do 🙂

Again, Let me know if you need the link or contact info to pre order your Gideon’s goodies!! You’ll have to let me know what you think of them.